February 12, 2012

There is definitely travel fever in the air! We have finally booked our flights to Finland where we will have our wedding in June and to France for our honeymoon thereafter! These Provencal tarts are a perfect cure for the time being and the summery ingredients of tomatoes and basil keep me going until I get to taste the real flavours of France.

The tarts might not look particularly pretty, but they are certainly full of flavour! I picked up a couple of kilos of gorgeously blush tomatoes and a big bunch of fragrant basil from the markets this morning and my whole kitchen smelled like summer when I was making these tarts! I love celebrating seasons with fresh produce and these tarts truly embrace the taste of summer!

Provencal tarts

(makes 4)

Crust

100g rolled oats

40g puffed brown rice

160g wholegrain spelt flour

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

pinch of salt

6 tablespoons olive oil

6 tablespoons water

Filling

1kg ripe tomatoes (peeled, seeded and chopped)

1 large red capsicum, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 brown onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

big handful (about 1 cup) fresh basil, chopped

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)

1. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and add the onion. Cook for a few minutes, then add the garlic, capsicum, tomatoes and basil. Let simmer for 40-45 minutes or until the mixture has cooked down. Stir in a tablespoon of sherry vinegar and leave to cool.

2. Place the rolled oats and puffed brown rice in a food processor and grind into a coarse mixture. Combine the mixture with spelt flour, dried rosemary and a pinch of salt. Add olive oil and water and lightly knead the dough until it comes together. Divide the dough into 4 portions and spread evenly in greased tart pans (12cm each). Refrigerate the crusts for 10-15 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 180C. Bake the bases for 15 minutes, then fill each base with the tomato mixture. Continue to bake for a further 5 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire rack before serving.